Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 May;4(Suppl 1):S73-80.
doi: 10.12980/APJTB.4.2014C899.

Characterization of larval habitats for anopheline mosquitoes in a malarious area under elimination program in the southeast of Iran

Moussa Soleimani-Ahmadi  1 , Hassan Vatandoost  2 , Mehdi Zare  3
Affiliations

Characterization of larval habitats for anopheline mosquitoes in a malarious area under elimination program in the southeast of Iran

Moussa Soleimani-Ahmadi et al. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2014 May.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the effects of environmental characteristics of larval habitats on distribution and abundance of anopheline mosquitoes in Bashagard county, a malarious area in southeast of Iran.

Methods: Larvae were collected monthly using the standard dipping method and identified using a morphological-based key. Environmental characteristics of the larval habitats were recorded. Water samples were taken from habitats during larval collection for physico-chemical characterization. Statistical analyses were performed.

Results: In total 5 150 anopheline larvae from 36 larval habitats were collected and identified. They comprised of six species: Anopheles culicifacies (29.36%), Anopheles moghulensis (25.20%), Anopheles dthali (18.02%), Anopheles superpictus (17.24%), Anopheles turkhudi (5.17%) and Anopheles stephensi (5.01%). The most common larval habitats were natural and clear water bodies such as riverbeds with sandy substrates and still water. Furthermore, the anopheline larvae were abundant in permanent and full sunlight habitats without vegetation and algae. Larval density was positively correlated with water temperature. Chemical characteristics including conductivity, total alkalinity, sulphate and chloride had significant effects on distribution and abundance of anopheline species.

Conclusions: The result of this study indicates a correlation between some environmental characteristics and anopheline larvae abundance which can be considered for effective planning and implementing malaria elimination program in Iran.

Keywords: Anopheles; Bashagard; Iran; Larval habitats; Malaria.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Monthly activity of anopheline larvae in Bashagard county, southeast of Iran during 2009-2010.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Typical potential anopheline larval habitats in Bashagard county, southeast of Iran during 2009-2010.
A and B: river edge, C: riverbed, D: Water leakage.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization . World Malaria Report 2011. Geneva: WHO; 2011. [Online] Available from: http://www.who.int/malaria/world_malaria_report_2011/en/index.html [Accessed on 2 August, 2013].
    1. Hemami MR, Sari AA, Raeisi A, Vatandoost H, Majdzadeh R. Malaria elimination in iran, importance and challenges. Int J Prev Med. 2013;4(1):88–94. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Soleimani-Ahmadi M, Vatandoost H, Shaeghi M, Raeisi A, Abedi F, Eshraghian MR, et al. Field evaluation of permethrin long-lasting insecticide treated nets (Olyset®) for malaria control in an endemic area, southeast of Iran. Acta Trop. 2012;123(3):146–153. - PubMed
    1. Kudom AA, Mensah BA, Agyemang TK. Characterization of mosquito larval habitats and assessment of insecticide-resistance status of Anopheles gambiae senso lato in urban areas in Southwestern Ghana. J Vector Ecol. 2012;37(1):77–82. - PubMed
    1. Keiser J, Singer BH, Utzinger J. Reducing the burden of malaria in different eco-epidemiological settings with environmental management: a systematic review. Lancet Infect Dis. 2005;5(11):695–708. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources